Sleeping Outside
by Snow White2
Summary: Intro. for two of my characters. About a girl dealing with her past, and our guys, of course, are there to help her.This is my first story and comments are very welcome!*finished* I have a lot of free time apparently.
1. Default Chapter

Disclaimer: I don't own the ninja turtles, *sigh, not one of them. Mirage does. Kelen and Lauren however, are mine. More chapters coming!  
  
'What the heck is that noise?' Kelen thought, awakened by the rude sound of who knows what. She blinked her eyes open and used the little bit of morning energy she had to lift her head up, just enough, to reveal an orange basketball hitting the cement. Over and over and over. Her head fell back down onto the cool morning grass. She gathered some more energy, and yelled "Mikey if you don't stop right now, I'm going to use your head for a basketball!"  
  
Mikey looked up, a bit surprised, he hadn't been aware anyone else was up, or outside for that matter. Then he laughed, his cute laugh, and responded, "Why don't you come over and try!" Then it hit his poor little mind that Kelen had slept outside. "Hey, Kel, why are you outside?"  
  
Kelen stretched, realizing she wasn't going to get anymore sleep today. She waited for Mikey to plop himself down beside her and told him "Indoors are to confining. All I need is the grass, the stars…"  
  
"And a blanket," Mikey said, noticing the thick wool cover.  
  
"Mikey I'm not stupid!" she said, a little aggravated. Then pulled the covers up over her head, only have them pulled down and off by Mikey.  
  
"You are so lucky I'm wearing pants," Kelen told him, "otherwise I'd have to kill you." Then they both laughed. Mikey pulled Kelen to her feet, and they went inside for breakfast.  
  
"Do you sleep out there every night Kelen?" Mikey asked around his eggs.  
  
"No, Only when I'm in a bad-…" she stopped herself. She didn't want to explain to anyone why she felt so terrible yesterday.  
  
"Come on Kel, out with it," Mikey insisted.  
  
"No, I don't, I mean, I just…don't feel like talking, okay?"  
  
Mikey knew by her tone that she wasn't going to tell him. It was the same tone Raph got when he didn't feel like talking. "Okay." He said.  
  
There was an uncomfortable silence, Kelen broke it, "I'm going to take a shower. Thanks for breakfast, Mikey."  
  
" No problem," Mikey said. Kelen walked into the bathroom of her best friends house. She shut and locked the door. Then she turned on the shower. But she didn't get in. She sat and the floor and let her glass tears flow down her cheeks. How could she ever tell him? How could anyone but Lauren understand? They had never even questioned her about her parents. And she wasn't going to start by telling them yesterday was the day her mom died. 


	2. That Horrible Day

A loud knock was heard on the door. "What?" Kelen asked, hoping her voice wasn't too shaky.  
  
"You going to be out anytime soon, some of us need the bathroom," came the ever familiar voice of her best friend, Lauren. Kelen flung open the door, and pulled Lauren in. "Kel, what's wrong?" Lauren asked anxiously.  
  
"Lauren, yesterday was the day my mom died…" she started.  
  
"I know," came the reply, "when you were eight.'  
  
"Yes, when I was eight. And I'll still cry about it when I'm thirty! You know that Lauren, you were there…"  
  
(Flashback)  
  
Kelen and her mother came walking out of the post office. Closely followed by a bouncing blonde named Lauren.  
  
"Okay you two," started the mother, " That's it for errands."  
  
The girls sighed. They had been running errands all day. And nothing fun either. The post office, her office, boring stuff. Kelen's mom hadn't even brought her purse, so there was no chance of getting a snack or a special treat. Now the sun was going down, and the three of them could finally head home.  
  
Lauren and Kelen had become greatly amused with not stepping on the cracks, the game they'd played through all of the errands, and were brought back to reality by a shrill scream. They looked up to find Kelen's mom at gunpoint.  
  
"I swear, I don't have any money, my purse is at home. I'll give you anything else, but please-…"  
  
"Anything, huh? How 'bout your life," Then shots were fired and that's all Kelen remembered. She had buried the blood and gore with the police questions, the foster homes, and every other horrible detail that came out of those shots. Her mother most of all. Right next to her father, who never loved her anyway.  
  
( Back to reality)  
  
"I know Kelen, I was there, I saw it too, I went through it all with you. Every last pain," Lauren remembered.  
  
"But," Kelen said through watery eyes, "I'm not ready to share that pain with them."  
  
Lauren knew exactly who she was talking about. They had saved Lauren's life almost six months ago to the day. They had become friends almost instantly, save for Raphael, and visiting them had become second nature. But they couldn't meet Lauren and not meet Kelen. The two went everywhere together. And Kelen was the easiest person to like. Now they needed a place to stay for a few days while their father was away on a retreat. He didn't trust them alone from past experiences, so Lauren invited them all, including Kelen, to stay with her for the next four days.  
  
After that terrible day that a little girl's world was shattered, Kelen went the rest of her life being babied and handled like glass. Every time she talked to someone, they were afraid they might make Kelen upset. And Kelen couldn't stand it. So when she met new people, she didn't tell them until they asked or until she was comfortable sharing it.  
  
"Did they ask?" Lauren wanted to know.  
  
"No, but Mikey wanted to know why I slept outside and I almost spilled!"  
  
"You are way too paranoid!" Lauren told her with a laugh. Then she pulled Kelen by the arm and brought her back to the real world. By now everyone was up.  
  
"So, do you two always have long talks in the bathroom?" Leo said casually.  
  
Kelen threw a pillow at him and sank into the couch. Aware that Mikey was watching her every move.  
  
*That's all for now! Kind of choppy and quick, I know. But I'll edit as soon as I get some reviews. So things will flow much smoother, I promise! 


	3. Whats Wrong With Kelen

"Hey, guys," Mikey said wandering into the living room, "Where is Kelen?"  
  
"She went to the mall," said Donny, barely glancing up from his book. "What about Lauren?" Mikey wondered. "Mall," sighed Donetello. Mikey threw himself onto the green leather couch. "So they're both gone?"  
  
"Yep," Raphael said, rolling his eyes, "They're at the mall."  
  
"Why?" Leo wanted to know. Mikey sighed, and decided to tell them.  
  
"Kel seemed real upset this morning," he said quietly. Leo directed all his attention to Mikey. He had always sensed that something was wrong with Kelen. That maybe none of her smiles were real. But he had always brushed the thought away, telling himself not to worry. But now that someone else sensed the same thing, maybe something really was wrong. "What do you mean upset?" Leo demanded. Mikey started telling them about the day he had experienced. About finding her outside and the way she slept out there when she wasn't in a good mood, and how she had locked herself in the bathroom. He finished with telling them about the way she kept shifting her weight on the couch earlier that day, like she wanted to get away from all the conversation.  
  
"Well," Leo said, "it does sound like something is wrong, but we really have no way of finding out what."  
  
"Or maybe," Raphael began, "She's really an alien from outer space, and she's here to take over our planet! Just a possibility, maybe you are all way to paranoid! Just leave her alone!"  
  
"Come on Raph, not even you can say that nothing is wrong!" Leo protested.  
  
Raph leaned back against the small bar in the living room He crossed his arms and looked away. He really was worried about Kelen. She had earned his trust almost immediately by not judging him. And the past few months, he had begun to like her. Much more than he wanted too.  
  
Leo and Mikey thought about what was wrong and slapped each crazy idea that came out of their mouths away.  
  
Leo was laughing at the idea Mikey had just suggested, when he glanced over to Donny. He had remained silent this whole time. His book was down, but he just sat there, as if contemplating something over in his mind.  
  
"Donny?" Leo said, snapping Don's attention toward him. The room fell silent. Everyone knew that he was hiding something. It was practically written in his eyes.  
  
"I was walking past the bathroom this morning," He began, knowing they would pry it out of him anyway, "I heard a kind of muffled noise, almost like someone crying. Kelen and Lauren were talking about something. I know I shouldn't have, but I stayed there to listen. Kelen said something about a terrible pain. One she wasn't yet willing to share with us. Something much more terrible than we can imagine. Something maybe we haven't had to go through yet." These guys had been through a lot. So that kind of limited their choices. They started tossing around ideas again, but these were more ridiculous than the last  
  
Now it was Raph's turn to be silent. He and Kelen shared a lot of the same emotions. Kelen had opened up to him a little more than she had with the others. Even though he wasn't the greatest guy to go to advice for, he liked knowing that someone understood the way he felt. Because they felt that way too. And he was determined to find out what it was that she was hiding.  
  
"Okay, lets be rational guys," Donny said wiping away the tears he had gotten from the suggestion that maybe it was just long term PMS. That one obviously came from Mike.  
  
"Now I think that maybe if we had hit the topic before with her, we might have some clue. But I'm blank. So start listing things that we haven't talked to her about at all yet."  
  
Mikey took a deep breath and began, " Roof repair, installing carpet, tools, grass, cooking, family…"  
  
Donny rolled his eyes, each of them were ridiculous. Except, "What was that last one Mike?"  
  
"Ummm… grass?" he completely guessed.  
  
"No, family, it's a shot in the dark, but I think we've covered almost everything else with her."  
  
"She's talked about her family before," Raph said matter-of-factly.  
  
"No," Leo said, "I don't think she has."  
  
"Well, anyway, you can't just go and decide that she's automatically upset about her family. We have no proof and it's a complete guess. So drop it." Raph said defensively, " You have no right to be doing this."  
  
They all stared at him. "Ohhhh, I think Raphie has a crush on someone." Mikey said in a singsong voice. Then they all giggled, yes giggled, at the thought that Raph might have a crush on Kelen.  
  
Then a huge argument erupted out of Raph's mouth and they were all talking at once. After a few minutes of this, a sharp whistle turned their heads to two girls, a blonde and a brunette, looking very confused and trying not to laugh.  
  
" What's up?" Kelen asked, hoping for a decent answer.  
  
Raph clasped a hand over Mikey's mouth, so nothing would spill, and said quickly, "Nothin'."  
  
"Nothin', huh?" Kelen responded, noting the hand over Mike's mouth.  
  
"Yeah," said Leo, "Just about, uh, TV."  
  
Donny was trying very hard not to laugh. "Something funny, Donnetello?" Lauren asked him. He shook his head no. All was silent for a little while.  
  
"Okay then," Lauren said, exiting the room. Kelen stood there her gaze meeting Raphael's. She got a funny feeling, like he was searching her soul for some un-known. She quickly turned her gaze to Mikey, who gave her an apologetic stare. She had hoped Mikey wouldn't tell them she had been acting so strangely. But now she knew he had. She turned on her heel and quietly padded up the stairs to the room that was practically hers. Downstairs, the guys heard the door to her room click shut and lock. Now they all knew, something was definitely wrong with Kelen. 


	4. Pictures on the Fridge

Kelen locked her door quietly, and laid down on her bed. How could Mikey tell them, she thought. Now they were all going to ask what's wrong. She would tell them and then that would be it. They would practically stop talking to her, because they wouldn't want to upset her. Like she might break if they say the wrong thing.  
  
What would she do if they asked? She couldn't lie to them. Not after all they'd done for her. But she couldn't tell them the truth either. Could she? No, they wouldn't understand. No one will ever understand.  
  
Kelen was so mad. Not at Mikey. Not at anyone. She was just mad. Mad that life had dealt her an awful hand. Hot tears poured down her face, but she couldn't explain why. For a while she had been mad at her mom. Mad for leaving her behind. Mad for not trying to stop what was happening. But she moved past that. She finally realized it wasn't her mom's fault. This wasn't what her mom had chosen to happen. It just…happened.  
  
She rolled over and buried her face into the pillow. She tried to subside her tears; she didn't want anyone to know she was crying again. Kelen couldn't ever remember crying this much. When she finally suppressed her tears, she raised her head up. The pillow was streaked with tear stains. She turned her head and rested it on the pillow. Her eyes came into perfect sequence with the pictures on the nightstand. One was of Lauren and she. They always had the most fun goofing off. Once they had filled up water balloons with chocolate sauce and whipped cream. The picture was the result of that food fight. Another picture was of Kelen's mom. It was her favorite picture. Her mom was in her sweats and a t-shirt. She was holding Kelen in her lap and they were sharing a tub of Rocky Road ice cream. Kelen wondered who took that picture. Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door.  
  
"Dinner's ready," said Lauren. 'Dinner?' thought Kelen. She had been up here much longer than she thought. Kelen suddenly realized she had no appetite. "No thanks," she told the door, "I'm not really hungry." The door was silent for a few seconds. But it soon responded, "Alright, come down when you get hungry." Then she heard footsteps, signifying that Lauren was gone. Kelen hated being worried about this much. It was nice, in a way. But enough was enough. She put her head back on the pillow, and tried to sleep.  
  
Lauren walked back downstairs. Kelen was always hungry. She was like a bottomless pit. Lauren always wondered how Kelen had stayed so skinny. She entered the kitchen, the guys had already started.  
  
"Is she coming?" Mikey asked. Lauren felt so bad for Mikey. He thought it was his fault that Kelen was so upset. If only he knew. "No," Lauren sighed, "she isn't very hungry right now, but she'll be down later." Mikey looked sad. But Lauren gave him a reassuring smile, and he started eating again.  
  
Dinner was pretty quiet. Kelen was always laughing or talking about something, so there was never a silent moment. Leo was looking at something on the refrigerator. Lauren directed her attention to the spot. It was a picture of three year old Kelen. "Cute, huh?" Lauren said to him. "Everyone used to tell her she looked exactly like Snow White. She really did too. She had really fair skin, dark eyes and hair, and bright red lips. She was a real beauty." Leo smiled. Raph smiled too. She did look like Snow White. "What about that one?" Mikey asked pointing to a picture of she and Kelen. They were both wearing long gowns, and looked absolutely gorgeous. Lauren blushed a little. "That's Prom Night." She said. They all looked at her. "You guy's have boyfriends?" Mikey asked. Lauren laughed.  
  
"No, some of our guy friends took us." This went on for the rest of dinner. Lauren's 'fridge was covered in pictures, and there was a story behind each one. She had another copy of the food fight one on there. They all got a laugh out of that. Then Don pointed to one of an older lady. "Who's that?" He asked. A period of silence followed the question. "Ummm…" she started, "That's uh, it's Kelen's mom." There was no question about it either. Kelen was a dead ringer for her mom. "What's wrong with Kelen's mom?" Raph asked, noticing the way her voice shook. "Nothing," Lauren said. "It's just that…" she didn't finish. "Just what?" Leo insisted.  
  
"Kelen's mom, well she, she uh," Lauren couldn't do it. Kelen would be furious if Lauren told. But they weren't going to give up that easily. They would find out sooner or later. Lauren gave in. "Ten years ago yesterday, Kelen's mom… she was murdered." Lauren closed her eyes. She couldn't believe what she just said. The boys gasped. They couldn't find words to talk with. But then another gasp was heard. One that hadn't come from any of them. They all turned to find Kelen standing in the doorway. 


	5. Sleeping Outside

Kelen stood in the doorway. Her jaw dropped slightly.  
  
"Kelen, I am so sorry! I don't know what-…" Kelen cut her of by shaking her head. "Kelen, it's alright. Let's just talk about this," Leo said. Kelen shook her head again. Slowly she turned around. For the first time she noticed just how big Lauren's house was. She didn't know where to go. She decided on her bedroom.  
  
She started to walk, but when she heard protests coming from the kitchen, she bolted. She ran, but she felt weak. She turned to head up the stairs, but she slipped on the wood in the entryway. She quickly regained her balance. Her feet tried to get her up the stairs in a hurry. But she tripped. Her head hit the wood railing, hard. She screamed out in pain to anyone who would listen. Her eyes shut tight, trying to stop the tears from coming, but they came. When she opened her eyes, everyone was approaching her. She backed up the stairs on her elbows and the back of her legs.  
  
"No," she whispered softly. "Kelen your in shock, and soon your going to be very sick, you need to lie down," Donny urged. "No," she said again. She got to her feet and hobbled up the stairs. Beads of sweat forcing themselves upon her brow. She was shaking. Her entire body was over heating. She was crying rivers. Her world started to spin before her eyes. Everything was a blur of rushing colors. She moved slowly holding onto the wall until she could get a good grip on something. She reached her hand out, feeling for something to hold onto when the wall stopped. She caught the edge of a doorway in her palm. She got a white-knuckle grip on it. But still she could feel herself falling. The noises around her and the sound of her name all slurred together in a never-ending sentence. Blackness started to cave in around her. Coming and going like a wave. She tried to stop it, but she gave in when she felt someone's reassuring arms around her waist. They said something she didn't catch, and she enveloped into darkness.  
  
*******************************  
  
Kelen opened her eyes to a bright, warm light. It was comforting. She took a step forward. She was out of the light. She was surrounded by white. Her feet touched no floor, but she still found she could move them. She directed her attention in front of her. There was a person only a few yards away. When they came into focus, Kelen gasped. It was her mother. "Mom," she said softly. "Mom!" she shouted. She ran forwards. How long it had been since she could say that word to someone. She ran at a speed she didn't know she had. But the faster she ran, the farther away her mom got. Kelen stopped. She was confused. If she couldn't reach her mom, then why was she here? Then it hit her. She wasn't supposed to be able to get to her mom. This isn't where she belonged. She got it now. She didn't belong with her mom, not yet. But she wanted her so badly. Her conscience fought itself. But she finally decided that she needed to go back. Because people back there were missing her. She closed her eyes. How was she supposed to get back? How could she leave her mother again? How could she leave someone she loved so much? She felt a grip on her shoulder. She knew it well. "I have to go back mom," she stated in one tone. Her mom squeezed her shoulder again She knew. She turned to say goodbye, but was instead confronted with a bright light. And then it was dark again…  
  
"Kelen?" the voice of Lauren echoed through her head. Then it came again. Clearer this time, and it sounded so sad, so worried. She tried to respond. She wanted to jump out and tell everyone she was okay. But when she tried to move her mouth, only a moan came out. "Hang on," she heard Donny say, "I think she's coming back." Kelen tried to move a little, but the same arms she felt before were still holding her tight, so she was only able to shrug a little. She felt so helpless. She desperately tried to open her eyes. But she was in a lot of pain. She gathered her last bit of strength and managed to blink. She squinted; the light was bright compared to the darkness she had just been in. She blinked a couple more times, and everyone let out their breath and sighed. The arms she was being held in loosened their grip.  
  
Everything came into focus. Lauren first. Her eyes were bloodshot and worried. But they were ten times less worried than Mikey's eyes. He smiled.  
  
"Hey babe," he said softly. She managed to get out a faint, "Hi." He smiled again and reached down to hug her. She leaned her head into his shoulder. She stayed like that for a minute. Then he released her.  
  
She looked around, she was in the living room. On the couch to be exact. She was propped into someone's arms. Don came over and felt her forehead. She was hot. Very hot. Her fever was much higher than any of his brothers's had ever been. "You really should have laid down," he sighed. "Sorry," she mumbled. He knew she couldn't help it. She was in a critical state. He rubbed her arm in an "it's okay" kind of way.  
  
Leo was sitting next to her. He had a very big brother look on his face. She couldn't help but smile. Leo was at a loss for words. He took her hand and squeezed it gently. But he really didn't know what to do. She sensed that and tried to say it's okay, but her words slurred slightly. "You shouldn't be trying to talk yet," Don instructed. She nodded her head.  
  
Lauren came over and held her. "Don't ever scare me like that again," she said in a parentally fashion. Everyone laughed a little at this. Lauren petted Kelen's hair and told her to get some rest.  
  
Kelen nodded and leaned back into the arms. Wait, whose arms were they? She tilted her head upward. Raph. He smiled at her, and she smiled back. She would have thought he'd be standing in the corner with his arms crossed, trying to act like he didn't care. He would have been the last person she would have guessed to be holding her. She realized her head hurt. She closed her eyes and leaned into Raph's shoulder.  
  
"Do you want me to explain your mom, or do you want to?" Kelen pointed to Lauren. The sound of Lauren's voice lolled her to sleep. Lauren noticed the look of panic that spread across Raphael's face, realizing that if he didn't want to wake her up, he would have to sleep with her on the couch that night. Lauren laughed, and reassured him that Kelen was a deep sleeper.  
  
Kelen awoke the later that night; everyone had ended up falling asleep in the living room. Kelen knew she was going to have a long day tomorrow. She'd be answering lots of questions and revisiting her past. But she was ready. She also knew that they were going to try their best to understand. She quietly got up, and tiptoed around everyone. She got a sticky note and a pen from the kitchen. She scribbled something on the note and stuck it on the couch.  
  
Everyone woke up about the same time the next morning. Mikey picked the note up off the couch and smiled. Then he turned to show everyone else. "Thanks guys, you're the best," it read. Then Mikey looked out into the backyard. He knew everything was going to be okay. Kelen was sleeping outside. 


End file.
